A cellular network, such as a mobile device network, is a wireless network distributed over land areas referred to as cells, wherein each cell is served by at least one fixed-location transceiver, such as a cell site or a base station. Within a cellular network, each cell uses a set of frequencies where at least some of the frequencies within the set of frequencies are different from frequencies being used by neighboring cells in order to avoid interference while providing guaranteed bandwidth within each of the cells. When joined together these cells provide radio coverage over a wide geographic area. Accordingly, the cellular network enables a large number of portable transceivers (e.g., mobile phones, tablets, wearables, etc.) to communicate with each other and with fixed transceivers and telephones anywhere in the network via base stations. Furthermore, these portable transceivers are able to maintain connectivity with the cellular network even while moving through more than one cell during transmission.
In cellular communications, link quality evaluation is important for several purposes. The metrics used for link quality assessment are based on downlink measurements, such as Channel Quality Indicator (“CQI”), Received Signal Strength Indicator (“RSSI”) and Reference Signal Received Power (“RSRP”), etc. Furthermore, these metrics are primarily used for network-controlled features such as link rate adaptation, handovers, cell selection and re-selection, etc.